The High-Level People’s Court in Hanoi upheld a jail sentence of 13 years handed down on 54-year-old Nguyen Van Tuc for “attempting to overthrow the people’s administration” at an appeal trial in the northern province of Thai Binh on September 14.

The ruling was issued in accordance with Clause 1, Article 79 of the 1999 Penal Code.

Furthermore, Tuc, a resident in Dong La commune, Dong Hung district, Thai Binh province, will also be kept under surveillance for five years after he completes his prison term.

Since 1997, Tuc has participated in lodging complaints in his locality. He had been lured by foreign and domestic reactionary elements to join several organisations such as “Dang Dan Chu 21” (Democratic Party 21), “Hoi Dan Oan” (Association for Victims of Injustice), “Nhom dan chu” (Democratic Group), and “Khoi 8406” (Bloc 8406) since 2006. Tuc also received financial and spiritual support to become a leader responsible for gathering forces.

In December 2007, Tuc participated in demonstrations in Hanoi, after which he wrote and published misinformed articles online. In 2008, he and some others distributed anti-state propaganda leaflets in Hai Phong city and Hai Duong province.

Tuc was taken into custody by the police on September 10, 2008 and prosecuted under the charge of “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”. Later, the Supreme People’s Court in Hanoi sentenced Tuc to four years in prison and another 3 years under probation.

After four years in prison, he returned to his hometown in Dong La commune to serve the three-year probation in 2012. However, he did not abide by the sentence and continued his anti-government activities.

In February 2014, Tuc took part in “Hoi anh em dan chu” (Brotherhood for Democracy) which was a reactionary organisation involved in illegal activities aiming to eliminate the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and overthrow the people’s administration. In this organisation, Tuc served as deputy chief of the representative committee in northern Vietnam and first vice president.

On September 1, 2017, the Investigation Security Agency of the Thai Binh Police Department decided to prosecute Tuc, put him in temporary detention, and searched his residence.

At the first-instance trial on April 10, the People’s Court of Thai Binh province said Tuc’s acts directly threatened national security and sentenced him 13 years in prison.